Murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi's last column published by the Washington Post

By now, readers must certainly know that mounting evidence, believable because of its sources and because of its explanatory logic, strongly suggests that journalist Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder and dismemberment took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul -- and that the facts as known point directly at this having been done under orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (often referred to simply as MBS).

Let me emphasize one important point:    This young de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who has become buddies with Jared Kushner, is no innocent.   He is waging a brutal war in Yemen that targets civilians;   he kidnapped the prime minister of Lebanon;   and he initiated a blockade of the nation of Qatar.

The fact that he is also trying to modernize his nation by allowing women to drive cars and by reopening the cinemas should not make us overlook his cruelty.  And now he has ordered the unspeakably horrible torture and murder of a respected journalist who dared to criticize the lack of freedom -- sending a message to journalist worldwide and to the autocratic despots who might want to get rid of them.

Of course they will concoct a different story, perhaps with the help of Donald Trump, who apparently came up with the phrase "rogue killers."   But that won't fly, because it's not believable that this could have been carried out without the knowledge of the crown prince, MBS.

Donald Trump, president of the United States, is not -- in my view -- totally without some blame in this larger issue of attacks on journalists.   His hostility to the media in our country, calling them the "enemy of the people," also sent a message to despots around the world that they could attack journalists with impunity.   His weak and delayed response to this outrage in Istanbul only adds to that message.

Here is the last opinion piece that Jamal Khashoggi wrote for the Washington Post.   The editor's note will explain the circumstances of its publication.

_____________________________

A note from Karen Attiah, Washington Post Global Opinions editor

I received this column from Jamal Khashoggi’s translator and assistant the day after Jamal was reported missing in Istanbul. The Post held off publishing it because we hoped Jamal would come back to us so that he and I could edit it together. Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post. This column perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world. A freedom he apparently gave his life for. I will be forever grateful he chose The Post as his final journalistic home one year ago and gave us the chance to work together.

*     *     *

"I was recently online looking at the 2018 "Freedom in the World 'report' published by Freedom House and came to a grave realization. There is only one country in the Arab world that has been classified as 'free.'  That nation is Tunisia.   Jordan, Morocco and Kuwit come second, with a classification of 'partly free.' The rest of the countries in the Arab world are classified as 'not free.'

"As a result, Arabs living in these countries are either uninformed or misinformed. They are unable to adequately address, much less publicly discuss, matters that affect the region and their day-to-day lives. A state-run narrative dominates the public psyche, and while many do not believe it, a large majority of the population falls victim to this false narrative. Sadly, this situation is unlikely to change.

"The Arab world was ripe with hope during the spring of 2011. Journalists, academics and the general population were brimming with expectations of a bright and free Arab society within their respective countries. They expected to be emancipated from the hegemony of their governments and the consistent interventions and censorship of information. These expectations were quickly shattered; these societies either fell back to the old status quo or faced even harsher conditions than before.

"My dear friend, the prominent Saudi writer Saleh al-Shehi, wrote one of the most famous columns ever published in the Saudi press. He unfortunately is now serving an unwarranted five-year prison sentence for supposed comments contrary to the Saudi establishment. The Egyptian government’s seizure of the entire print run of a newspaper, al-Masry al Youm, did not enrage or provoke a reaction from colleagues. These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence.

"As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate. There was a time when journalists believed the Internet would liberate information from the censorship and control associated with print media. But these governments, whose very existence relies on the control of information, have aggressively blocked the Internet. They have also arrested local reporters and pressured advertisers to harm the revenue of specific publications.

There are a few oases that continue to embody the spirit of the Arab Spring. Qatar’s government continues to support international news coverage, in contrast to its neighbors’ efforts to uphold the control of information to support the “old Arab order.” Even in Tunisia and Kuwait, where the press is considered at least “partly free,” the media focuses on domestic issues but not issues faced by the greater Arab world. They are hesitant to provide a platform for journalists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen. Even Lebanon, the Arab world’s crown jewel when it comes to press freedom, has fallen victim to the polarization and influence of pro-Iran Hezbollah.

The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power. During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe, which grew over the years into a critical institution, played an important role in fostering and sustaining the hope of freedom. Arabs need something similar. In 1967, the New York Times and The Post took joint ownership of the International Herald Tribune newspaper, which went on to become a platform for voices from around the world.

My publication, The Post, has taken the initiative to translate many of my pieces and publish then in Arabic.  For that, I am grateful. Arabs need to read in their own language so they can understand and discuss the various aspects and complications of democracy in the United States and the West. If an Egyptian reads an article exposing the actual cost of a construction project in Washington, then he or she would be able to better understand the implications of similar projects in his or her community.

The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices. We suffer from poverty, mismanagement and poor education. Through the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural problems their societies face."

*   *   *

This reasoned voice of dissent, this restrained call for freedom -- this is what was so threatening to the young crown prince that he ordered the most heinous crime of murder and dismemberment.

And the president of the United States can barely bring himself to criticize the obvious perpetrator -- but wants to give him three more days to "conduct a complete investigation" . . . of himself?     And all Trump can think about is "I don't want to lose the $100 million weapons contract" they have promised.

For too long, we've said that Donald Trump has no moral sense.   That does not go far enough.   He has no soul.

Ralph

Republicans' "willful stupidity" on budget deficits

It really should not be that hard to understand:   when you spend money you do not have, you incur debt.   And that is what happens when the U.S. budget spends more than it takes in in revenue.

When you have debt, you have to pay interest.   This fiscal year 2018, we will pay $523 billion in interest on the national debt.

Now we know that government budgets are not quite as simple as a family budget -- because financial markets are involved, monetary policy, the Federal Reserve interest rates that can be manipulated -- plus our vast borrowing power and ability to just print more money.   It is indeed complex.

Deficit spending is often a good idea to bolster a faltering economy.   But we're doing it now in a booming economy.   Why? 

Republicans aren't generally considering all those complexities in their public explanations.   They just tell the bald -face lie that tax cuts pay for themselves.   That may be true when you give them to people who will spend the money on purchases, which in turn stimulate the economy.

The same could be true with tax cuts to manufacturing companies that will create new jobs, build new plants, modernize old ones, invest in infrastructure that makes them more efficient. 

But that's not what happened with the recent Republican tax cut, which mostly benefited very wealthy people and corporations (corporate taxes went from 35% to 21%) -- with a little bit for the working class so they could claim that it covered them too.

So what happened?   The deficit in the latest budget jumped by 17%.  Corporations invested little in the above mentioned things.   They mostly used it for stock buy-backs -- and gave it out as dividends to share holders.   And the wealthy?   They just put it into their investment portfolios.   And all of it charged to our creditors, like China which holds more than a trillion dollars in U.S. debt.

Remember the old fairy-dust about "trickle down economics"?  It didn't work then either.

So now Republicans don't really have "tax cuts" as a popular issue to run on, because most voters didn't get anything much from them.   What are they saying instead?    Mitch McConnell came up with the tired, tired meme that it's the entitlements (Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare) that's the problem.   We spend too much money on the social safety net.

Why are we not surprised?   Because Paul Ryan had said this years ago -- that his main objective as House Speaker was to reform those entitlements.  By "reform," he means cut the funding.  And, since they are popular, you can't just go in and cut them.   You have to have a reason.

Ergo:   you cut taxes, create a huge deficit, a ballooning interest payment on the debt, and then complain about the deficit and interest on the national debt ($523 billion for 2018) -- and "explain" that's why we have to cut spending, beginning with the entitlements.

They've tried it before;   they tried it again this year.   And we cannot let them get away with it.

Go vote.   Vote early.   Vote for sanity and compassion in government.

Ralph

CNN and NBC say Saudis admit journalist was killed -- but say it was an interrogation gone wrong.

Two sources have told CNN that journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death "was the result of an interrogation that went wrong, one that was intended to lead to his abduction from Turkey."   In other words, the story they're concocting is that the murderers were "rogue killers," and it was not part of the plan.   NBC has now been able to confirm the story that this is the cover-up they're constructing -- and President Trump seems to be helping them, having himself referred to "rogue killers" shortly after his call to King Salman.

Wow!!   If they're admitting that they were going to kidnap him, then the truth must be as bad as what we've been hearing.     'Oh, dear.   We didn't really mean to kill him, just abduct him and take him back to Saudi soil" . . .  and then do what, please?

Khashoggi is a Saudi himself, who was once close to the royal family.   But in recent years, he had become increasingly a critic.   As a journalist, he had gotten residency status in the U.S., and he wrote for the Washington Post.

He had gone to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2nd to pick up some documents concerning a previous divorce that would allow him to marry again.   His fiancee was waiting outside the consulate while he went in, expecting to be back out in a few minutes.   He never came out and has not been seen since. Now, some are suggesting that this was a lure concocted by the Saudis to get him and abduct him.  He had been told to go to the consulate on that particular day to pick up the documents.

Reports have also said that two private planes carrying fifteen Saudi men had arrived in Istanbul just prior to this.   The implication was that this was a hit squad, carrying among other things a bone saw -- implying that his body was dismembered so that it could be whisked out of the embassy without arousing suspicion.  Turkish officials claim that they have audio and video recordings of him being interrogated and then murdered.   They have not yet made them public. 

This new report from CNN follows days of denial from the Saudi government that it had any connection with the incident.  Experts who know the Saudis well say that nothing happens in that country without it coming from the very top -- i.e., the rulers themselves:   King Salman and the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- and increasingly it's the young prince who calls the shots.  

President Trump did acknowledge what a terrible thing this was, if true.   But yesterday he placed a call to the Saudi King and reported back that the king absolutely denied that his government had anything to do with this.     As with Putin's denial of having anything to do with the email hacking, and with Kavanaugh's denial of assaulting Christine Blasey Ford, Trump so easily seems to accept a denial from an accused man -- if he is vehement enough in the denial.   He always emphasizes how "firm" or how "strong" was the denial.

But there are wiser heads than Trump's in this.   His motivation seems to center on not wanting to lose the huge sums of money the Saudis spend buying military weapons and planes from us.   He "would hate to lose that."   There's also the fact that both Trump and Jared Kushner have huge, personal financial ties to the Saudis -- loans and investments from the Saudis that might be jeopardized, or that give the Saudis some control over them.

Many business leaders are pulling out of a Davos-like conference upcoming in Riyadh, part of the young crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's efforts to wean his country off oil and diversify into a more balanced economy -- as well as to claim a spot on the world's stage of important investors.

There are multiple geopolitical implications here.   Trump's first overseas trip as president was not to the traditional Mexico or Canada or European allies but to Saudi Arabia, where he was royally feted and his ego pumped up by his image projected onto tall buildings.

Jared Kushner also seemed to have made a close friend in the young crown prince, the 33 year old MBS, as he is referred to.   He has made several trips back to the area, including one in which reportedly the two of them sat up half the night talking and cementing their friendship -- and possibly conferring about the MBS's planned extortion of money from wealthy family members and other businessmen that occurred shortly after Jared's visit.

What we are seeing here is the ruthlessness of not only King Salman but the Crown Prince as well.    Khashoggi had apparently written articles very critical of MBS, who reportedly has a very thin skin when criticized.

Looks like Trump may have gotten us into another geopolitical mess.  Just  how much is he in on the planning, as well as apparently participating in the cover-up in order to maintain his and our country financial ties to these people?   He did just talk with King Salman shortly before he himself began using the phrase "rogue killers" and spouting the same story line.

Trump is once again showing that he has no concern for the moral or human rights aspects of agreement -- it's all transactional:   what am I going to get out of this deal?   He would literally swap the truth and any morality for  keeping the arms deal and for whatever he personally owes the wealthy Saudis.

Ralph